Wednesday, June 30, 2010

THERE'S only one film to sink your teeth into this summer – the fangtastic Twilight sequel eclipse.

And it’s set to be bigger and better than the previous bloodsucker blockbusters as heroes Edward and Bella are faced with more action danger and romance than ever before.

Industry insiders are predicting Eclipse will put the previous epics Twilight and New Moon into the shade as Britain goes vampire-crazy for the latest instalment, which has its UK premiere tonight.

This time, vamp-loving Bella has got just two things on her mind – being made into a bloodsucker herself and getting undead boyfriend Edward into bed.

But he refuses to jump between the sheets with her as he doesn’t believe in sex before marriage.

Eventually he promises to give into her desires, after she finishes school – and as long as she marries him before they get frisky and he makes her immortal.

Heart-throb Robert Pattinson, who plays Edward, reckons their chaste relationship keeps fans on the edge of their seats.

“If they just randomly had sex it would ruin the whole series,” the Brit actor says with a laugh. “It’s that moment of anticipation – whether it’s at the point of not knowing if someone likes you, or whether they like you enough to go into this.

“It’s the fear as well, especially if neither party has had sex before. I guess the fear kind of multiplies the desire and we’ve stretched that out. I think that’s why it has so many fans.”

For those who have missed out on the Twilight phenomenon, it revolves around Bella’s turbulent relationship with Edward, not helped by best friend and werewolf Jacob Black also being in love with her.

To make matters worse, werewolves and vampires are sworn enemies.

In Eclipse, Edward and Jacob battle it out for Bella’s affections. But their rivalry isn’t the only problem. An army of bloodthirsty newborn vamps led by the evil Victoria from the first film are terrorising the area.

Flame-haired Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard, 29) is desperate for revenge after her lover was killed by Edward and is determined to kill Bella, leading to the franchise’s most exciting battle scene yet.

For both Kristen and Rob, nick-named R-Pattz by his legion of adoring girl fans, this was their most challenging film of the series yet.

Rob, 24, says: “Action for action’s sake is kind of boring. But this has a massive battle scene with the newborn vamps.

“There’s a lot of kissing and snuggling and hugging and then there’s the huge battle. It’s definitely something different.

“In the first two movies Edward has one problem – whether to be with this girl. He has one decision to make and it’s answered in New Moon. And now he has to connect to the real world, which opens a massive amount of emotion.

“That is much more fun to play, more complex. He’s coming out of his shell, so hopefully by the end he’ll be a normal 17-year-old guy who’s just a little pale.”

Kristen adds: “I think Edward’s a great guy, but what I think is really special about the story is how they feel about each other.

“They are undeniably drawn to one other by an animal instinct, but at the same time they are perfect for each other in a human way as well.”

But American beauty Kristen, 20, admits she was left red-faced by the scene where she tries to seduce Edward – even though the pair are an item in real life.

“It was horrible,” she reveals. “You have no idea! It was really embarrassing because it’s not normal for a girl to be in that position.

His traditional values are quite sweet but they are just not hers and it was pretty embarrassing to be treated like such an animal.”

The rivalry between Edward and Jacob (hunky Taylor Lautner, 18) also hots up in Eclipse as Bella decides who she loves the most.

“For some reason, I find it quite funny when I’m doing stuff with Taylor,” says Rob.

“There are a couple of confrontational scenes where I push him around a little bit. I thought I’d really scare him and grab him and it would freak him out and turn the scene upside down.

“Then I grabbed his shoulder and it was actually too big to get a grip on so I just dropped my hand. It was embarrassing.

“I got him back though. He kept having to dress up in a little grey Spandex wolf suit and try to be intimidating with Kristen patting him on the head. That was funny.

“Seriously, though, it was good because I never do anything with anyone except for Kristen and this was about letting Edward have petty emotions like being jealous of Jacob and not being able to control himself because he gets under his skin so much.

“It becomes much easier to play much bigger scopes of emotion once you let someone else get through your armour.”

Bella kisses Jacob in one sizzling scene and realises she’s in love with him, but just not as much as with Edward.

And giggling Kristen admits it was her favourite scene. “On set that day people were walking around calling me a floozy,” she says with a giggle.

“I went: ‘Geez, what’s wrong?’ I like it because it’s so different and it shocks the hell out of her and completely changes the dynamic she has with her boyfriend.

“It was awkward to shoot because I know Taylor so well and we are such good friends, but it was only awkward before and after. In the middle of it, it did feel the way it should have felt.”

Notoriously tight-lipped about their personal lives, both Rob and Kristen clam up when asked about their relationship.

But Rob admits he understands why their army of fans – known as Twihards – are so obsessed with them being together.

He says: “I guess people like stories. My basic conclusion is that they just want everything to be about Twilight.”

Other than "Green Zone," several other new releases came to market last week, including Summit Entertainment's "Remember Me," a romantic comedy with a $19 million theatrical gross that debuted at No. 4 on the sales chart

The third film in the Twilight saga, Eclipse, opened at midnight in theatres on Wednesday, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) decided to bring this bit of pop-culture into the Senate hearings concerning the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. The hearings have been going on since Monday, with Kagan answering questions throughout each day.

"I guess it means you missed the midnight debut of the third Twilight movie last night," Sen. Klobuchar said. "We did not miss it in our household, and it culminated in three 15-year-old girls sleeping over at 3 a.m."

"I didn't see that," Kagan said.

"I keep wanting to ask you about the famous case of Edward v. Jacob, or The Vampire v. The Werewolf," Sen. Klobuchar said, opening her questioning with a bit of lightheartedness.

"I wish you wouldn't," Kagan said with a laugh.

In the book and film series, the two characters -- Edward, a vampire played by Robert Pattinson, and Jacob, a werewolf played by Taylor Lautner -- battle for the love of the female lead, Bella.

As Kagan said in later testimony, a judge plays for neither team, but acts independently. She practices what she preaches, because she refused to commit to either Team Edward or Team Jacob.

Summit's "Eclipse" scored massive figures Tuesday night, with more than $30 million at some 4,000 engagements, enough to become the all-time highest-grossing pic for midnight runs.The franchise's third outing, which surpassed "Twilight" predecessor "New Moon" ($26.3 million) for the late-night crown, will expand to 4,416 U.S. locations today. Large-screen exhib Imax posted north of $1 million from 192 engagements, a record-setting take for the company.

Some 12 territories, including Brazil and Mexico, also screened "Eclipse" during midnight showings. Most markets will continue the film's international rollout today, with additional bows July 1. Pic will launch day-and-date in 42 overseas markets.

Pic's midnight take reps a sizeable start Stateside over the Fourth of July weekend as its core aud of young femmes mostly are on summer vacation. "Eclipse" will go against the frame's other wide release Paramount's "The Last Airbender," which is expected to best serve males aged 25 and under.

Robert Pattinson (The Twilight Saga) and Tallulah Riley (The Boat That Rocked) star in The Summer House. Set in rural France in the late sixties, a young girl reaches a turning point in her life as mankind celebrates the Apollo 11 moon landing.

Available on iTunes from 13 July (US, Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Germany)

Everyone is talking about whatever is going on between Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. Is that good for business?Do you want the honest answer? I haven't even thought of it that way.

That's not the honest answer.It really is. I honestly don't think of it in terms of business. It doesn't affect our core business at all. The thing I do think about is, Oh my God, I hope they stay together. Because it could be awkward on set in the next movie if they have a huge falling out. It's like, Wow, they have to portray this love story through two more movies. God, I hope they stay together; please stay together. That's what affects my day-to-day.

But you walk by newsstands and it's a publicist's dream: they are on every cover.I don't feel it's out there anymore. Do people still report on it? If you look at people who have a stable personal life, the rags get tired of them. I think we're heading to that place where they are together and that's their life and we better find someone new to create drama out of.

Read full interview at Time - Talks about Breaking Dawn not being R rated and Rachelle Lefevre

The real danger on the set of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse didn't involve vampires or werewolves. It was all the flying saliva.

"We're always like an inch away from each other's faces, screaming at each other, spitting at each other in the face. It gets a little awkward," Taylor Lautner told PEOPLE of costar Robert Pattinson at Monday's Cinema Society and Piaget-hosted screening of their latest Twilight film in New York.

Did Pattinson have to duck any major projectiles? "Not anything super dramatic," Lautner says, "but I'm sure he caught a couple splats."

Shouting at each other doesn't come naturally for two guys who don't, in real life, despise each other. And so, the scenes often veer into laughter. "Rob and I ruin a lot of takes," Lautner admits. "It's hard to keep a straight face, because we actually like each other. So, it's pretty funny."

With Pattinson filming Water for Elephants, Lautner, 18, was joined at the screening by costar Kristen Stewart, 20. Both actors said they've been enjoying some relatively quiet time recently.

Lautner said he's been following the World Cup – "I was rooting for the U.S., and that was a bummer," he says – while Stewart has been indulging her passion for music and cooking. "I'm fairly obsessed with [indie rocker] Jenny Lewis right now," she admits. "I'm in a state of grief because I'm missing her show in L.A."

But the cooking is going well – and it sounds like Stewart is being resourceful. "I like making pies," she says. "I have a bunch of fruit trees in my backyard. My loquat tree sprouted, and I like making loquat pie. They're really hard to peel and everything, and it took me forever, but they make the best pies. They're amazing."

Monday, June 28, 2010

I was one of the residents of "tent city" for those three and a half days at LA Live. Anyway, my Rob encounter was pretty EPIC! You see this is my third Twilight premiere and although I've always had the opportunity to briefly speak to him behind the barriers on the red carpet and to also get an autograph I never got the chance to take a picture with him so I was determined to get one this year. Well to make a long story short, it finally happened and it couldn't have been a better experience. As soon as Rob made it to my area across from the press he started signing autographs immediately in true Rob form. When he finally was in front of me I told him that I'd been to the previous two premieres and had never gotten a picture with him and proceeded to ask him if I could. He looks at me and smiles and says "You do look familiar, I remember you." I tell you even if it was a lie, I don't care. Robert Pattinson said he remembered me! How freaking awesome is that? After that I told him that I watch all his movies even the ones hardly no one watches like The Haunted Airman (when I get nervous I babble). He just laughed and asked me if I liked it in his very proper British accent. Of course, I said yes but the whole interaction at that point was just unbelievable and just plain cool! My friends tell me I chatted him up even a little longer but to be honest with you a lot of it was a blur as he dazzled me yet again!